Government Spins Legal Aid Changes
DCA Press Release
11 January 2007
Reforms to the legal aid system will ensure good quality advice
is available for the most vulnerable groups of people, Legal Aid
Minister Vera Baird will say: The changes to the way the
Government buys legal services for the public will begin to take
effect from April 2007. Payments will be made to lawyers on the
basis of a whole case and work completed, rather than by hourly
rates that provide no incentive for cases to be concluded swiftly
and can reward the inefficient. These reforms will encourage the
effective running of the justice system, in particular in crime,
by rewarding well-run cases. This is part of the wider drive
towards simple, speedy, summary justice.